by Luciana Amodeo

Although his music career started early with exposure to the guitar and piano, he was forced to temporarily forgo these lessons because, being held on Saturday mornings, they conflicted with the Superman and Batman Hour on TV. “Video recorders hadn’t been invented yet,” he recalls. “And I had my priorities!” Once the cartoon obsession faded, García began his academic music career in earnest on trombone at age 13—a later start, he notes, than students usually begin. Around that same time, he returned to piano as well.

García decided to major in jazz in college, but quickly found an obstacle that would hinder his improvisation: a thicket of chord symbols confronting him on every page. Improvisation being such a major component of jazz, García became frustrated and nearly quit music twice.

Instead, he continued his music education at the graduate level. His undergraduate adviser suggested that he focus his studies on jazz writing instead of playing, and that little piece of guidance proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Over the course of his graduate work, García began to recognize a change in his playing.

Concentrating on jazz writing had turned him into a better improviser. It was the cross-training of his skills that helped him understand how improvisation works. At 25, he remembers, he played his first dependable, improvised solo. “To really learn something, sometimes you have to try several different ways,” he says. “ It’s a natural part of learning.”

But why write the book? “Many students are scared of improvising over tunes because of the complicated-looking chord symbols,” García explains. And although improv is a part of the National Standards for Music Education for all US students, music educators usually find little time for jazz exploration while studying for their degrees. “It’s important that the initial instruction of improvisation be successful and creative, not terrifying!” says García.

So García decided to make learning—and teaching—improvisation easier. He began at the macro-level by focusing on the key centers of tunes rather than the endless chord symbols. All students know their major scales, and melodies from The Great American Songbook are written in one or only a few keys. Students don’t have to worry about the “calculus of chord symbols” to solo in a gig or in class.

García’s methods have proven effective, and he has demonstrated his techniques at workshops worldwide for more than 20 years. As Director of Jazz Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, García has an opportunity to talk with students about more than just improvisation; in his music business class he teaches a segment on the AFM, and stresses its significance to musicians.

A member for almost 30 years, García first joined at 18 years old, when he saw gigs being offered to union members and wanted to be a part of the action. “I joined at age 18 or 19,” he says. “Musicians I looked up to were in the union,” he says. García believes that as AFM members “ we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.”

Late bloomer though he may be, García refuses to believe that it had a negative effect on his overall music career. And, he says, it should never affect any other student’s music career. “There’s no clock on art,” he says.